Motifs In The Harlem Renaissance

     Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. According to Wintz:

     The Harlem Renaissance was a time of racism, injustice, and importance. Somewhere in between the 1920s and 1930s an African American movement occurred in Harlem, New York City. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. It was the result of Blacks migrating in the North, mostly Chicago and New York. There were many significant figures, both male and female, that had taken part in the Harlem Renaissance. Ida B. Wells and Langston Hughes exemplify the like and work of this movement.

Second, there was an event that occurred from the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age, which was called the Harlem Renaissance. During the Harlem Renaissance, a numerous amount of African American put forth their talents and intellect. This is a prime example of a form of expression or cultural expression because a trend was set for more African Americans to start “Expanding their horizons and embracing the concept of the “new Negro” movement (P. Scott Corbett, et al). Even though discrimination was still around, this progressive movement helped African Americans contribute to literature, music, politics and more. In which helped shape and form a path for African-Americans to rediscover their black culture, for African American artists, writers, and other famous leaders to “formulated an independent black culture and encouraged racial pride, rejecting any emulation of white American culture” (P. Scott Corbett, et al).

The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and literary period of growth promoting a new African American cultural identity in the United States. The years of 1920 and 1990 and “were clear peak periods of African American cultural production.” During these years blacks were able to come together and form a united group that expressed a desire for enlightenment. “It is difficult not to recognize the signs that African Americans are in the midst of a cultural renaissance” (English 807). This renaissance allowed Blacks to have a uniform voice in a society based upon intellectual growth. The front-runners of this revival were extremely focused on cultural growth through means of intellect, literature, art and music. By using these means

There were many notable events taking place in the years 1900-1940, some being Pablo Picasso painting one of the first cubist paintings is 1907 , the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 , the 18th Amendment being added to the Constitution (prohibiting the use of intoxicating liquors) and then being repealed in 1933 , the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote in 1920 , Amelia Earhart becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1928 , and the list continues. Undoubtedly one of the most influential of events during this time was the Harlem Renaissance. Even with its many leaders and innovators, it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective had it not been for Alain LeRoy Locke: black writer, philosopher, and teacher who influenced black artists to look to African sources for pride and inspiration. Without Locke’s contribution, the Renaissance would not have flourished as much as it did, and black pride would have taken longer to develop and accept.

 Harlem Renaissance 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Harlem Renaissance n.d., History, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Harlem Renaissance n.d., Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Great Migration 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Claude McKay 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 24 August 2015, .

The Harlem Renaissance was a time period where African American influencers of the arts found cultural identity in a white domain in the city of Harlem New York. The Harlem Renaissance is the rebirth of African American culture in the United States. The rebirth of the African American Culture was not limited to Harlem, because it also took root in other places, such as Washington DC, Chicago, and Illinois. The positive culture of the Harlem Renaissance pointed out some of the injustices African Americans were experiencing throughout the United States, and it was portrayed in their literary arts. Original leaders in the Harlem Renaissance included James Weldon Johnson. James Weldon Johnson was one of the first publishers of contemporary black poetry of the 20th century. The name of the book he published titled “The book of American Negro Poetry” was a reflection of the writings of African American poets in the 1920s. James Weldon Johnson helped revitalize African American culture through his literary works and poetry; the Harlem Renaissance continues to influence the African American culture through the literary arts, poetry, and the influence of the originators of the Harlem Renaissance.

The early 1900s was a time marked with tragedy in America. Started and ended with the Great Depression in between, it was not America 's finest moment. Prohibition was in place, the Klu Klux Klan was still marching, and the Lost Generation was leaving for Paris. But despite the troubling times, people still found beauty and meaning in the world around them. They still created art and celebrated life. The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic and literary movement that developed a new black cultural identity through artistic expression. It fused African traditions with slave history and American culture, and revealed to the world what life was like as a black person in America.

The 1920’s were a period or rapid growth and change in America. After World War I American’s were introduced to a lifestyle of lavishness they had never encountered before. It was a period of radical thought and ideas. It was in this time period that the idea of the Harlem Renaissance was born. The ideology behind the Harlem Renaissance was to create the image of the “New Negro”. The image of African-American’s changed from rural, uneducated “peasants” to urban, sophisticated, cosmopolites. Literature and poetry abounded. Jazz music and the clubs where it was performed at became social “hotspots”. Harlem was the epitome of the “New Negro”. However, things weren’t as sunny as they appeared. Many felt that the Harlem Renaissance itself

The Harlem Renaissance represents the rebirth and flowering of African-American culture. Although the Harlem Renaissance was concentrated in the Harlem district of New York City, its legacy reverberated throughout the United States and even abroad, to regions with large numbers of former slaves or blacks needing to construct ethnic identities amid a dominant white culture. The primary means of cultural expression during the Harlem Renaissance were literature and poetry, although visual art, drama, and music also played a role in the development of the new, urban African-American identity. Urbanization and population migration prompted large numbers of blacks to move away from the Jim Crow south, where slavery had only transformed into institutionalized racism and political disenfranchisement. The urban enclave of Harlem enabled blacks from different parts of the south to coalescence, share experiences, and most importantly, share ideas, visions, and dreams. Therefore, the Harlem Renaissance had a huge impact in framing African-American politics, social life, and public institutions.

Art is defined as an expression of a persons beliefs, ideas, imagination, and character. In this class, we learned that the many forms of art could be a reflection of a persons emotions or a time period by using naturalism, idealism, or abstract themes. During the 1920’s, an era known as the Harlem Renaissance defined black culture and changed entertainment around the world. The black community used art such as music, literature, and paintings to express social freedom. Artist such as Jacob Lawrence, Langston Hughes, and Duke Ellington used their art as a form of therapy and communication to share the life of an African American in White America. This phenomenon created culture pride within the community. Their art is significant to

I always found the 1920’s a very interesting decade as it went from a lively moment to a depressing and struggling one within a split second. Therefore, I believe that I learned all of the concepts pretty well. For instance, I learned about the Harlem Renaissance, the cause and effect of The Dust Bowl, and the lasting political argument of the New Deal in the United States. First of all, the Harlem Renaissance was a time period where African Americans began to embrace their roots and create art/works to reflect their experience living in US society. However, during the Great Depression many Americans were left unemployed. In addition to drastic unemployment rates, the environmental disaster, also known as the Dust Bowl, contributed to many

The Harlem Renaissance was a time era that began in the 1920s and it marked a period where a cultural, social, and artistic explosion took place in Harlem. This happened between the end of World War 1 and during the middle of the 1930s. Harlem was a place where most African Americans wanted to be, many of them actually migrated there which was known as The Great Migration. With all the fascinating things that we benefited from the Harlem Renaissance represented a rebirth of culture. The Jazz and Blues evolved in this era and were very popular, some of the most famous Jazz and Blues musicians were Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Henry Webb, and Louis Armstrong, along with many other African American singers and composers who became extremely famous during this time. A very well known club was the, “Cotton Club” this was where Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong drew huge crowds of both white Americans and African Americans, this club was where they all caught what was known as Jazz fever. Our nation was blessed with this amazing music of Jazz and Blues, which has been around since and many still love this music today. Many African Americans made huge impacts throughout the time but there was a woman Novelist, Anthropologist, and short story writer whose work stood out distinguishing herself from all the other writers. She is known as Zora Neale Hurston, she was born on January 7, 1891, in Nostalgia, Alabama but moved to Eatonville, Florida as a toddler. Her family moved to Florida where her father was elected Mayor of the town during 1897-1902. Her father was the Mayor as well as a baptist preacher and her mother was a school teacher. In 1904 her family suffered the tragedy of her mother's death, years later her father remarried and Hurston along with her siblings, had a step mom. In order to support herself and finance her efforts to get an education she had to work a variety of jobs, one of which includes being a maid for an actress while she was on tour. She earned an associate degree at Howard University and later moved herself to the city of Harlem in New York City where she joined the uprising art scenery. Nonetheless, Hurston quickly began studying in order to have novels and short stories to publish, one of

Wintz, Cary D, and Finkleman Paul. Reference book of the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Taylor and Francis Book, Inc., 2004.

During the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes uses imagery, repetition, and simile in his poem, ¨Life is Fine¨ to demonstrate the condition of Black America in the early twentieth century. The first poetic device that demonstrates the condition of Black America in the early twentieth century is imagery. In his poem, ¨Life is Fine,¨ Langston Hughes writes, ¨But it was High up there! It was High!¨ (18).